Citi Double Cash Card Review 2023

Our experts answer readers' credit card questions and write unbiased product reviews (here's how we assess credit cards). In some cases, we receive a commission from our partners; however, our opinions are our own. Terms apply to offers listed on this page.

Many of the best cash back credit cards give you 1.5% back on your spending without an annual fee, but few surpass that earning threshold. That's why the Citi® Double Cash Card is so exceptional.

With the Citi® Double Cash Card, you'll earn 2 points per dollar — effectively 2% cash back — on all purchases (1 point per dollar when you make a purchase, and 1 point per dollar when you pay it off). And there's no limit to what you can earn, which puts the card high on our list of the best 2% cash back credit cards.

It's an ideal card for those who want a solid cash back rate without having to keep track of bonus categories or spending caps.

Citi Double Cash Card Review: Is It the Best Credit Card for You?

Because it has no annual fee, the Citi® Double Cash Card is a great option as a long-term "keeper card" — both for its strong cash back earning and because your average account age is a factor in calculating your credit score. The Citi® Double Cash Card offers a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, then a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR, which can save you money if you're looking to consolidate debt or move a balance from a high-interest credit card. 

Because the Citi® Double Cash Card earns Citi ThankYou points instead of straight cash back, you can redeem rewards for travel through the Citi ThankYou travel portal, gift cards, merchandise, and more. 

If you also have a Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card (no longer available to new applicants), you can combine your rewards and transfer Citi ThankYou points to over a dozen airline and hotel partners, including Singapore Airlines, Air France-KLM, and Wyndham.

Redeeming your points this way can often translate into even more value, especially if you book business- or first-class award flights that would otherwise cost a fortune.

Before you decide on the Citi® Double Cash Card, be sure to consider other no-annual-fee credit cards that offer similar cash back. For example, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card offers 2% cash rewards on purchases, and comes with a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months from account opening.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Citi Double Cash Card Rewards

Citi Double Cash welcome bonus

Currently, the Citi® Double Cash Card does not have a welcome bonus offer. It almost always doesn't, but it has offered a modest limited-time cash back welcome bonus a couple of times in the past. There's no guarantee that a welcome bonus will ever return — they have been few and far between.

How to earn cash back with the Citi Double Cash Card

The Citi® Double Cash Card is simple in that it doesn't require you to keep track of bonus categories — you'll earn the same cash-back rewards rate on every purchase you make.

Instead of awarding cash back all at once as most cards do, the Citi® Double Cash Card works a little differently. You'll earn 1 point per dollar (worth 1% cash back) when you make a purchase and 1 point per dollar (1% cash back) when you pay it off. This delayed return shouldn't be a factor if you pay your bill in full every month, but if you're someone who carries a balance, it's something to consider.

How to use Citi Double Cash rewards

You can use points from the Citi® Double Cash Card in more ways than you might think — they're not just good for cash back.

If you want to trade in your rewards for cash back, you can redeem your Citi ThankYou points at a rate of 1 cent each for a check, a statement credit, or a credit to your linked account with no minimum requirement for statement credits or direct deposit; check redemptions have a minimum of $5. You can also use points toward travel, gift cards, merchandise, and more. 

The Citi® Double Cash Card now lets you transfer Citi ThankYou points to one airline partner, JetBlue, at a transfer ratio of 5:4 (1,000 Citi ThankYou points to 800 JetBlue points), and to hotel partners Wyndham (5:4 ratio) and Choice Privileges (2:3 ratio).

If you also hold the Citi Prestige® Card or the Citi Premier® Card, however, you can combine your points and transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to all of Citi's airline partners, including Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, and Etihad Guest, and at an improved ratio to Citi's hotel partners.

Redeeming Citi ThankYou points for airfare, hotel stays, car rentals, and attractions through the newly refreshed Citi Travel With Booking.com gets you a rate of 1 cent per point. This is a one-stop shop for using rewards for travel, but be sure to compare prices through the Citi portal to booking directly with the airline, hotel, or other travel provider.

Citi Double Cash Card Benefits and Features

As a no-annual-fee card, the Citi® Double Cash Card doesn't come with a ton of cardholder benefits. However, there are a couple that can be very helpful in the right circumstances.

Introductory 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months

With the Citi® Double Cash Card, you'll qualify for a 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, followed by a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR. A 5% balance transfer fee applies with a minimum charge of $5.

Using a 0% APR credit card for balance transfers can save you money if you're carrying high-interest debt on other cards. It can also be a good opportunity to simplify your monthly bills by consolidating credit card debt in one place. Just be sure you're able to make at least the minimum payment each month and have the means to pay the entire balance before the introductory period expires.

Pair the Citi Double Cash with the Citi Premier or Citi Prestige

If you also have the Citi Premier® Card or Citi Prestige® Card, it's a smart move to pair one of those cards with the Citi® Double Cash Card. This would make it possible to extract the maximum return from your rewards, because the Citi Premier® Card and  Citi Prestige® Card open the door to transfers to all of Citi's airline and hotel partners.

If you travel often but like saving money by booking award flights, this is an important factor to consider. But before applying, you should check out Citi's transfer partners to make sure they work for your travel plans. Keep in mind that you can redeem points from these airlines for award flights on partner airlines; for example, because Singapore Airlines is part of the Star Alliance, you can use its miles to book award flights on United (also a Star Alliance member).

Most of the current Citi ThankYou transfer partners all offer a 1:1 points transfer ratio, with exceptions noted below:

You can also transfer Citi ThankYou points to Sears Shop Your Way rewards at a rate of 1 Citi ThankYou point to 10 Shop Your Way rewards points.

Unlocking the ability to transfer points to travel partners with the Citi Premier® Card and  Citi Prestige® Card echoes the rules of other transferable points programs. For example, to transfer points to airline and hotel partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards®, you'll need an annual-fee card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, Chase Sapphire Reserve®, or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card in your wallet.

Citi Double Cash Card Annual Fee and Other Costs

While the Citi® Double Cash Card has a $0 annual fee, there are other fees to be aware of.

You'll pay a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR whenever you carry a balance, and fees apply for certain activities, including:

• Foreign transaction fee: 3% of the US dollar amount of each purchase (if you're heading abroad, use a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees instead)
• Balance transfers: 3% intro fee of each transfer ($5 minimum) completed within the first four months of account opening, then 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum)
• Cash advances: Either $10 or 5% of the amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater

How the Citi Double Cash Card Compares

Citi Double Cash vs other Citi credit cards

*eligible 5% cash back categories on the Citi Custom Cash℠ Card are restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, select travel, select transit, select streaming services, drugstores, home improvement stores, fitness clubs, and live entertainment

Citi Double Cash vs other cash-back credit cards

Wells Fargo Active Cash vs Citi Double Cash

If you're comparing the Citi Double Cash vs Wells Fargo Active Cash card, you'll want to decide how much you value a welcome bonus offer. That's because the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card comes with a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months from account opening, while the Citi® Double Cash Card doesn't currently offer a welcome bonus.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card also earns 2% cash rewards on all purchases, and there's not the limitation of earning half the rewards when you buy and the other half when you pay like there is on the Citi® Double Cash Card.

That might make the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card a clear winner for most folks. But keep in mind, the Citi® Double Cash Card has the advantage for its long intro APR on balance transfers (0% intro APR on balance transfers for 18 months, then a 19.24% - 29.24% Variable APR). If completing a balance transfer is your main motivation for getting a card, the Citi® Double Cash Card should be your pick.

The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card also has an intro APR offer (0% intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers for 15 months from account opening, then a 20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% variable APR), but it's not as long as on the Citi® Double Cash Card.

Chase Freedom Unlimited vs Citi Double Cash

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is another strong competitor to the Citi® Double Cash Card. When comparing the Chase Freedom Unlimited vs Citi Double Cash, you should consider your spending habits and what you want to get out of the card.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® has a welcome bonus offer of 1.5% cash back in addition to regular earning on everything you buy up to $20,000 spent in the first year (worth up to $300 cash back), which gives this card an advantage in the first year. Its earning rates can also be more lucrative if you spend a lot on travel, restaurants, and drugstores. You'll earn 5% cash back on travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, 3% cash back on dining, 3% cash back at drugstores, and 1.5% cash back on everything else, with no caps.

With the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, there's also a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months, then a 20.49% - 29.24% Variable APR. 

The Citi® Double Cash Card has an advantage for balance transfers and overall cash back rate. You'll do much better with this card if the long balance transfer is worth it for you, and if most of your spending is outside of the Chase Freedom Unlimited®'s bonus categories.

Citi Double Cash Card Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Methodology: How we reviewed the Citi Double Cash Card

Insider's credit cards team evaluated the Citi® Double Cash Card in comparison to similar cash back credit cards with no annual fee. We looked at various factors, including:

• Ease of use — Are the cash back or rewards from the card straightforward to earn and redeem, or are there hoops to jump through? Are there lots of ways to use your rewards?
• Cash back earning potential — Does the card come with earning rates that are equal to or higher than comparable cards? If the card has bonus categories, are they broadly useful to consumers, and do any of them have a spending cap?
• Benefits — Most cash back credit cards aren't packed with fancy benefits, but does the card offer perks that put it above competing cards? These could be things like travel benefits, purchase protections, or statement credits.
• Annual fee — If the card has an annual fee, is it justified? Does the card's earning potential and other perks make paying a fee worth it?

To read more about Insider's methodology, and how we pick the best credit cards, check out our explainer on how we rate credit cards.